Francesco Bonifacio - After The War

After The War

In May 1945 German and Italian forces were driven out of the entire Istria region by the victorious Partisan Army. The region, almost entirely was almost entirely annexed to the new Tito’s Communist Yugoslavia. Life radically changed; the new regime looked for proselytes among the youth, and of course, saw the Catholic Church, and ministers as potential enemies. The new government discouraged people from approaching the Church; new holidays were introduced to replace the old religious occurrences, people attending regular services were noted by Communist agents standing outside the churches, and their names went on a blacklist. Anyone could exploit this new order and take personal advantage of being a party member, and turning himself into a communist agent. Although Don Francesco’s faith was as firm as a rock, he noted that things were changing for worse. He was informed by some loyal parishioner that some members of his congregation had already embraced the new standards, and therefore he was warned not to trust them anymore. However, due to his strong faith in God and in his mission, he chose to keep on trusting them. As history has subsequently proven, people soon realized what it meant to be under a communist regime, and Don Francesco Bonifacio did too. He wrote in his diary,” I can’t believe that those who claim to be our liberators are stealing so much from us.” Due to his sense of duty and his total attachment to the Christian doctrine, he was seen as a mentor for his community. This was a threat to the new masters’ programs and Don Francesco went on the blacklist, alongside of many other priests. At this time Yugoslav communism was modeled on Soviet style, and alongside with the usual violence, they were also trained to use other tricks to accomplish their goals. Misinformation, propaganda and false accuses were just part of that plan. Don Francesco was therefore accused of being a “Subversive and an anti-communist”. He answered these false accusations by holding Action’s meeting into the Church, with the doors wide open, so that everyone could listen to what he was saying to his attendance.